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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29118780">Weakness</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/berettajane/pseuds/berettajane'>berettajane</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avengers (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Team</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:42:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>553</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29118780</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/berettajane/pseuds/berettajane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>As it stands, she is a liability.  If his mind is on her, he is distracted and that puts everyone on the team and the world at risk.  Waiting around for her to get better is just going to cause a hole in the personal element of our collective strategy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Steve Rogers &amp; Reader, Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s), Steve Rogers/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Weakness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>                                       </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>You jolted awake in the middle of the night, feeling behind you instantly for Steve...who’s not there.  You sit up, the covers pooling at your waist as you allow your eyes to adjust to the darkness, scanning the room for any signs that he was there.  Nothing has been disturbed; no clothes strewn around, nothing moved on his nightstand.  You silently pull yourself out of bed, checking by the front door.  His sneakers are still there, meaning he wasn’t in the training room or on a run.  You walked through your door, padding down the hallway as you shivered from the cold marble under your bare feet.</p>
<p>Voices echo in the hallway as you walk toward the only brightness in the dark building.   Slowing to a stop at the doorway, you peer into the conference room where the Avengers are meeting -- at 2AM, of all times.</p>
<p><br/>Noticing movement, Steve looks towards the doorway to see you standing sleepily in his t-shirt and a pair of barely-there pajama shorts.  Your arms are crossed over your chest, hair in a messy bun on top of your head.  He motions for his team to pause the conversation, not wanting you to hear anything more as he puts his hand on your lower back, shutting the glass door to the conference room behind him and moving you down the hall.</p>
<p>“Hey, Angel.  What’s the matter?” he asks softly, his hand resting on your hip.<br/>“I woke up, and you weren’t there,” your voice nearly a whisper as you looked up at him, an innocent look on your face.<br/>“I’m sorry, baby,” Steve apologized, pulling you to his chest and wrapping his arms around you, engulfing your body.  “Did you have another nightmare?”<br/>Unable to speak, you nod and pull him closer to you, burying yourself in his chest.  His embrace tightens around you and he kisses the top of your head before resting his chin there.  His eyebrows knit together, his eyes becoming unfocused as he stares off into nothing, holding his world in his arms.  </p>
<p>He knows you’ve had a hard go of it since you were attacked, and his absence hasn’t made it any easier to help you recoup.  The irony of his absence is that it’s caused by his planning with the team to help keep you safe and make damn sure nothing like that ever happens again.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em> Meanwhile in the conference room… </em>
</p>
<p>“She’s stronger than you think.  This attack just...rattled her,” Natasha explains.<br/>“Look, she’s his weakness; it makes her an easy target for someone trying to make him do <em> anything </em>they want,” Tony comments, his fingertips touching the conference table to punctuate his point.<br/>“I think it’s safe to say that we <em> all </em> have weaknesses, Tony,” Bucky counters, his arms crossed over his chest.  “You and I both should know that not all of our weaknesses are physical.”<br/>“We can’t keep her hidden forever,” Natasha sighs. “ Anyone with good enough skills can get intel on them and find out about her, if they don’t know already.”<br/>“So, we train her,” Bucky states.  “We work on her mental and physical game individually, and prepare her for what we can.  We all have enough experience separately and resources pooled together to help get her steady again and exceed where she was before.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let me know what you think!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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